'Harry Potter' Star Robbie Coltrane Hospitalized After Flight

Robbie Coltrane, who was hospitalized in Florida, has starred on TV and in films. Photo: Courtesy/Reuters

Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, 64, was rushed to a hospital after experiencing flu-like symptoms while on a flight to Florida. The actor is best known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” films, but also has starred in the James Bond films “The World Is Not Enough” and “GoldenEye” and in the British crime series "Cracker."

Coltrane was on his way to a “Harry Potter” convention with co-star Michael Gambon when he was rushed to a hospital upon landing in Orlando Thursday. Coltrane flew via British Airways from London. He remained in the hospital overnight for tests and treatment.

TMZ claimed a source on Twitter saw the actor drinking heavily in a London airport lounge before the flight.

The actor was born Anthony Robert McMillan, but he renamed himself in his early 20s after the American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. He appeared in such 1980s movies as “Flash Gordon,” “Britannia Hospital,” “Scrubbers” and “Krull.” He didn’t gain international fame until he was cast as half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” films, based on the books by J.K. Rowling.

In 2000, Coltrane placed number six on a poll of “the most famous Scot” in the U.K., behind the Loch Ness Monster, Robert Burns, Sean Connery, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.